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A different kind of writer

There are writers and writers. While some write for posterity, there are others who give information to people in books, modest in terms of cost and number of pages. Tony, 30 books old, writes on any subject but timing is his forte

PASSION FOR WRITING Tony Chittettukalam's forte is informative literature

Tony loves to write. And write he does, in a way that many don't. He calls himself a professional writer of informative literature. This sometime journalist belongs to that genre of writers who have a fair knowledge of literature and language and uses it for writing books.

Tony Chittettukalam already has around 30 books published in his name either as a writer, editor or compiler. Timing is his secret of success.

Diverse topics

And the topics are as varied as spirituality, health, science, literature, and management. Sometimes he strikes it rich as when his book on Sobhana George, `Njan Neritta Agnipareekshanangal'got released right in the midst of the controversy surrounding her arrest.

From politics, he crosses over to science. His science background helped him in writing botanical books like `Irapidiyan Sasyangalum Visudha Sasyangalum,' a book on insectivorous plants.

"I write so that people apart from enjoying, also get some information out of it," says Tony. And his journalistic experience in `Deepika' and `Sangamam' newspapers appears to have helped in writing these compact books. Ever since the computers have come into the publishing industry, Tony finds that it takes even lesser time to complete a project. On an average he takes about a couple of days of continuous writing to complete a book. Like he did when he compiled a book on the late Pope John Paul II.

He completed the work of 116 pages in just three days. Since the timing was right, about 10,000 copies were sold out. But some take longer like his to-be released `Ratri,' which is a compilation of writings on the `night' from Ezhuthachan down the ages to the writers of this era.

"It has prose, poetry, verses, photos, sketches, just about everything on night. Since it involved a lot of research, it took me almost eight months as I had to take time off my office hours," he explains. "Similarly, my book `Mazhapusthakam,' is a compilation of works on the rain," says this post-graduate in Botany.

Another of his book had an interesting release. It was on a boat ride onboard the tourist boat, Vasco da Gama during a programme called Katha Yatra. Filmmaker K. G. George handed the first copy of `Njanum Ente Ishta Kathapathrangalum,' to poet Rosemary.

In an era where reading is a fast-disappearing habit and buying books is not a fond hobby anymore, Tony writes books that do not cost much but is an economical buy in terms of pages and compact in terms of information for his readers.

SUDHA NAMBUDIRI

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